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Boat burglar nabbed off View Royal

Arrested man is also a suspect in boat break-in in Esquimalt

A nautical thief picked up Sunday morning in a stolen boat is believed to be the same man who broke into a boat in Esquimalt just hours earlier.

West Shore RCMP responded to a call of a poorly navigating boat in Portage Inlet along the 100-block of the Island Highway in View Royal.

When police hailed the $50,000 vessel, the man aboard claimed he had borrowed the boat to go fishing.

The View Royal Fire Department assisted police in boarding the vessel, and they determined a propeller had been damaged. The boat had come to a sudden halt after the propeller wrapped around a line, injuring the suspect in the process.

While the Victoria man was being treated for minor injuries, RCMP officers recognized the man as a person of interest from another nautical caper – a Jan. 27 boat break-and-enter captured on video by a vigilant citizen in Esquimalt.

Darrell Martin Tychuk, 23, faces charges related to boat theft and for breaching several court-ordered conditions, including a prohibition on operating a motorized vehicle.

Further charges are pending in the Esquimalt break-in, said VicPD Const. Mike Russell.

dpalmer@vicnews.com